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Bioactive Compounds: Multi-Targeting Silver Bullets for Preventing and Treating Breast Cancer
Nethaji Muniraj1, Sumit Siddharth2, Dipali Sharma3
1Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA. nmunira1@jhmi.edu.
Cancers
|October 18, 2019
Summary
Cancer cells evade programmed cell death (apoptosis), a natural self-destruction process. This review explores bioactive compounds that can re-induce apoptosis in cancer cells, offering potential new cancer therapies.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Programmed cell death, or apoptosis, is a crucial mechanism for eliminating damaged cells.
- Cancer cells frequently evade apoptosis, contributing to tumor growth and progression.
- Natural products have historically provided effective anti-cancer drugs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review bioactive compounds with anti-cancer potential.
- To elucidate the mechanisms by which these compounds induce cancer cell death.
- To discuss the preclinical and clinical development of these therapeutic agents.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of bioactive compounds and their anti-cancer properties.
- Analysis of mechanisms of action, focusing on apoptosis induction.
- Examination of preclinical and clinical data for therapeutic development.
Main Results:
- Bioactive compounds can re-induce apoptosis in cancer cells, a key hallmark of cancer.
- Many compounds target multiple cancer cell survival pathways simultaneously.
- Natural product-derived drugs are established chemotherapeutics.
Conclusions:
- Bioactive compounds show promise in re-establishing programmed cell death in cancer.
- Targeting multiple pathways offers a strategy to overcome cancer's resistance.
- These compounds represent potential 'silver bullets' for cancer treatment.
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